America is shocked and horrified at the massacre in the Emmanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina. People reacted with sorrow and shame that such a thing should happen at a peaceful prayer meeting.

It’s hard to find the right words to express sorrow and offer comfort for there is no comfort. Republican candidates on the campaign trail quickly cancelled their scheduled events, Senator Lindsey Graham flew back to South Carolina.

President Barack Obama quickly politicized the event. “We don’t have all the facts, but we do know that, once again, innocent people were killed in part because someone who wanted to inflict harm had no trouble getting their hands on a gun,” Obama said, adding “At some point, we as a country will have to reckon with the fact that this type of mass violence does not happen in other advanced countries.” Um, tell that to Charlie Hebdo. Or perhaps the 2011 massacre at a summer camp for the youth division of the ruling Norwegian Labour Party. Anders Brevik massacred 69 young people. Just before that he had packed a van with an explosive mixture of fertilizer and fuel oil. The explosion killed eight people. Germany has had more attacks on schools than we have. But don’t miss a chance to make a political point.

Hillary also called for gun control, while heading for a bunch of fundraisers. Obama, having made his point, headed out to California for a $16,700 per person fundraiser in Pacific Palisades. Later he has another one in Beverly Hills. On Friday he has an interview with Marc Maron, then flies up to San Francisco for the U.S. Conference of Mayors followed by another couple of fundraisers. Obama frequently tells us how important empathy is to him.

A number of media sources are reporting that South a Governor Nikki Haley will name Representative Tim Scott to be the next senator from South Carolina. Scott will serve for two years, and then presumably run in a special election in 2014. If reelected, he would then serve an additional two years — the remaining two years of the six-year term Jim DeMint was elected to in 2010—then Scott would presumably run for a full six-year term in 2016. He will be the lone African-American Republican in Congress. He will be a great addition to the Senate.

Environmental activists and energy efficiency enthusiasts simply have no understanding about how angry the American people are about the intrusion of their long green noses into people’s own homes.

Lawmakers in South Carolina are taking a stand. With incandescent bulbs being phased out under federal law in favor of compact fluorescents, legislators want to exempt South Carolina from the measure, saying that Washington has no business telling the state how to light its homes, closets and countertops.

The South Carolina House will begin debating a bill that would allow companies to manufacture incandescent bulbs in South Carolina as long as they stamp them “Made in South Carolina” and sell them only in the state. Texas, Georgia and Minnesota have considered sticking with incandescent bulbs, but have not passed laws regarding the bulbs. South Carolina currently has a small incandescent light bulb plant.

The demand for the efficiency of CFL bulbs fits right in with an energy-starved economy dependent on alternate “green” sources of power. With centuries of clean natural gas available at low cost (shale gas) the environmental case is beginning to fall apart. Not that it was ever an environmental deal. The Electric companies— GE, Phillips and Sylvania— essentially wrote the federal law, and expect to make way more profit on CFL bulbs from China.

CFL bulbs are far more expensive, and alternates to those are even costlier. CFLs are not allowed to be placed in the garbage, but must be taken to a proper disposal site, many of which charge for the privilege. There have been reports of CFLs exploding. Studies have shown that the energy savings are 73% less than expected, and even subsidies didn’t encourage as many people to buy them as expected. They don’t last as long as expected, and turning them on and off seems to shorten their lives.

When a good substitute that offers good light at a reasonable price comes to market, consumers will adapt. But these are not things that should be forced upon the public at the whim of the Barbara Boxers in the Senate. It’s not the business of Congress.

Contrary to Democrat’s expectations, American consumers are quite capable of making their own choices without the government forcing choices upon them.